Actor, Author and Advocate Reneé Rayles

About Reneé Rayles

Reneé Rayles grew up in Southern Indiana and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University. Her professional background covers a wide range of positions and engagements.

She’s written several nonfiction books, including “Fast Food Meals Under 500 Calories,” “My Book of Goals,” and “It’s a Mocktail: Low Calorie, Low Sugar, Low Carb, Non-Alcoholic: 10 Recipes. " Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes.com, Endocrine Now, and the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

Rayles is also a former Atlanta TV host and trained actor who’s studied at The Groundlings and UCB in Los Angeles and Second City in Chicago and has been featured in various film, television, and commercial work.

Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) as an adult in 2021, Rayles became a motivational speaker and creator/host of the Hey Type 1 Diabetes (Hey T1D) platform. This platform includes the “Dear Diabetes” podcast and encompasses social media and a YouTube channel.

In 2022, Hey T1D reached over 27 million views on social media. Her warm, energetic presence engages listeners by offering resources, education and encouragement.

She has hosted various television shows, red-carpet events, fundraisers, and Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) Type One Nation Summits. In 2023, she emceed Breakthrough T1D’s Hope Gala.

In 2022, Rayles spoke at two rallies for Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, including one with President Obama, to support affordable insulin. Also, Breakthrough T1D asked her to join a team in Washington, D.C., to advocate for the Special Diabetes Program.

Today, Rayles lives with her husband and son in Atlanta, Georgia.

A T2D Misdiagnosis​

Long before Rayles had type 1 diabetes, she worked for Abbott Diabetes Care, selling their first continuous glucose monitor (CGM). Ironically, she said she was talking about diabetes every single day and even attended an intense four-day training that included reading Gary Scheiner’s “Think Like a Pancreas.”

“It was to the point where I was like, why do I need to know this much about diabetes,” Rayles said. “But little did I know it would potentially help save my life.”

It definitely got her the right diagnosis when she was misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Rayles said she had been going to the doctor on and off for a year with weird symptoms like a funny taste in her mouth and gaining and losing five to ten pounds overnight. Her doctor said, “That was impossible.” Rayles also felt rundown and was drinking a lot of water. 

During a visit to her cardiologist, Rayles noticed her blood glucose bloodwork was high (over 170 mg/dL), but no one mentioned it to her. She even asked her physician if she could have type 1 diabetes, and her doctor laughed and said, “No, we’d be looking for type 2.”

Her Abbott education led her to challenge his dismissal. “Look, I don’t have the comorbidities that generally go with type 2 diabetes (high lipids, high blood pressure, excess weight). Could we do a C-peptide test on me?” Fortunately, her doctor agreed. Rayles said she was thankful for her time at Abbott because she would never have known to ask for the test.

Interesting Fact: Over 40% of adults over 30 years old are misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes when they have type 1.

Rayles said she started with multiple daily insulin injections (MDI) for a year, and then she moved to the Omnipod 5 and Dexcom 6 continuous glucose monitor (CGM). “I’m in much better control on a pump. I also know I’m very lucky to live in the United States and have access to these things.”

Interestingly, starting her Hey T1D show helped Rayles accept her diagnosis and process the fact that she had an autoimmune condition. “I learned that a lot of people want to talk about it, the living part. Commercials always show people in this little graph, and that’s not real life.” Also, Rayles said T1D can be challenging for middle-aged women like herself dealing with hormones. “Talking out loud helps.”

Hey, Type 1 Diabetes

Rayles wasted no time creating the Hey T1D platform to share her diabetes experience and raise T1D awareness through social media. In May 2021, she founded the social network, which can be found on YouTube. Her show offers best practices and solutions for T1D management with themes that empower and engage listeners. 

The program provides diabetes content, where she connects with guest interviewees and offers tips on diabetes burnout, insulin dosing, mocktails for better blood sugar, and self-advocacy.

Rayles fosters a non-judgmental, warm environment where guests are encouraged to unite and uplift others. Her Dear Diabetes podcast is available on Apple and Spotify. 

Adult T1D Education Falls Short

Unfortunately, in this country, type 1 adults aren’t given the same education as type 1 children and families. In Georgia and most states, families of type 1 kids get a full week of diabetes training, whereas adults are sent off with a vial of insulin and expected to figure it out. 

“Quite frankly, you can kill yourself pretty easily,” said Rayles, who saw the lack of education. The more Rayles heard about the meager knowledge provided to adults at their diagnosis, the more she felt compelled to act.

Advocacy came easily to Rayles. At 14, she had scoliosis and had to wear a back brace. She thinks that helped her be okay with diabetes in the sense of wearing medical devices and her openness to help others.

It was her motivation behind the Hey T1D YouTube show. Rayles did four episodes on the basics of T1D. “I felt like it was my love letter to my diabuddies because I had this knowledge.”

“I wanted to interview actual medical professionals (diabetes educators that either had type 1 diabetes or a child with type 1 diabetes) that talked about diabetes basics and insulin therapy because so many adults I was speaking with didn’t even know what sick day protocol was, or ketone testing and how that’s different from a keto diet.”

The Importance of Transparency

Rayles said she tries to be transparent about receiving diabetes training and continues seeking education.

Also, she tries to show that there is nothing wrong with wearing the technology. “It’s a normal thing, and I think it’s great that people are getting used to seeing them. Rayles wore her CGM and pump to a massage recently, and the masseuse said, ‘Oh, you just like my third client today.’ “It feels nice to know that I’m not alone."

In one of her social media posts, Rayles talked about eating a piece of bacon from a craft service table. The next thing she knew, her blood sugar was up to 250 mg/dL. She said it was probably partly due to nerves, but the bacon was undoubtedly cooked in sugar or honey. “I have found solace in being transparent with this disease,” said Rayles. “It helps me accept it better than to pretend that everything is great. This is normal life, and you should be able to show it and not hide from it.”

Additionally, every story you put out there might aid someone else in a similar situation. You never know who you might be helping.

In the Spotlight

When her son got older, Rayles decided to pursue her passions more, with acting being one of them. Likewise, Georgia is a prominent city in the film and television industry. 

As a SAG-AFTRA actor, Rayles has appeared in AMC Covenant and Tubi’s Broken Seeds. Her hosting jobs included Comcast’s Atlanta Mom and reporting for Neighborhood TV in Atlanta.

When Rayles first started acting, she concealed her devices for the first year after her diagnosis and didn’t post much on her page since a casting director might see it. She was also a little shy about checking her blood sugars in meetings and on the set, but that quickly changed when she realized diabetes was a part of her identity.

“I remember asking a casting director about how I should move forward with my diabetes on set, and he said, ‘Whatever character you ever play, they also have type 1 diabetes.”

“Now, I’m not asking for permission; I’m bringing this in; my pump is connected to me. It is what it is. I’m not asking for forgiveness because I’m just trying to live.”

Rayles has juice boxes with her at all times. She recently hosted a Live Instagram segment on the red carpet for a Women in Film and Television gala, and her blood sugar started dropping on air. Because her husband followed her glucose levels on his watch, he walked up and handed her a juice, and she drank it while talking.

Affordable Insulin

Rayles said traveling to Washington, D.C. and calling on congressional members was very eye-opening. “One congressional member thought that insulin was already covered for everyone. A lot of people assume, since there’s the Medicare cap that it’s everyone, but the reality is that a coupon card is a band-aid.”

The Lily Insulin Value Program offers a savings card to help people pay for insulin. Anyone can purchase Lilly insulin for $35 per month through the program using a downloadable savings card from its website, or call the Eli Lilly Solutions Center at 883-808-1234.

The problem with the program is that some people can’t access a smartphone or computer to download the card. “They can’t sign up for these coupon cards," Rayles said. "There are still people who pay cash for insulin.”

Keep the Pressure ON!

Also, Rayles said that around the time of the recent insulin shortage, the coupon/rebate cards weren’t working, so again, people were paying up to $1,000 a month for insulin. "The truth is that the same people who have driven prices up to $1,000 a month could take that away tomorrow. The only reason it has been lowered is because there is this pressure, and they don’t want to have this cap from the government,” Rayles said.

“It’s reprehensible that it’s almost 2025, where the patent was sold for $1 in 1923, but these people don’t have access to it,” said Rayles. “I get that pharmaceutical companies are in it to make money, but we cannot forget about the people that need this medication to live.”

In reality, it may feel like we’ve accomplished some things concerning affordable insulin; however, we are still at the point where insulin isn’t even covered by the majority of America at an affordable price. “Insulin is just the basics of living; it’s not living a great life with type 1 diabetes; it is just to stay alive,” Rayles said.

Three Practical Tips

The learning curve for diabetes is constantly evolving, and fortunately, as the diabetes community broadens, we can gain knowledge from others to help manage our own conditions.

Here, Rayles shares what she learned quickly to help navigate her T1D and avoid hypoglycemia.

Be Careful with Insulin on Board

“One of the biggest things that helped me was reading Ginger Vieira’s book on “Exercising with Type 1 Diabetes” and how to avoid scary lows when you’re working out. Her book was transformative for me because I had always heard that after you eat, you should go for a walk; well, I was dosing insulin, eating, and then going to the gym. I discovered what works best for me when I learned about insulin on board and how it affects you when you’re working out.”

Big Purse Lady

“One of the things I had to accept was that I was going to be a big purse lady. I’m not going to be the girl with the tiny, cute purse anymore, and I now have a bag with all the stuff I need because it never fails the time I don’t bring it; I need it.”

Unintended Insulin When Flying

“Unfortunately, with any pump, you can get unintended insulin when flying, insulin that you don’t dose for. And I’ve had a few extreme lows on planes, so now I take my insulin pump off and put a new one on when I land because I’ve had such extreme lows,” said Rayles. "A New York Times article shows the average unintended insulin released on a flight, and it was mind-blowing. I don’t know why people aren’t talking about this more. A lot of people just think, ‘Oh, I just go low on planes, and they could literally be getting unintended insulin. When you take off, the pump gets air bubbles, and when you land, they disperse. I’ve also heard it called baggage claim lows. It’s not the pumps doing anything wrong; it’s just the altitude.”

For more on this complication, read the National Institutes of Health (NIH) study on how changes in altitude may cause unintended insulin delivery.

Advice For Newly Diagnosed T1Ds

“Perfection is not possible right now when you are trying to maintain an organ,” Rayles said. “Give yourself grace. Do the best you can. An organ can work independently, and it’s okay to have a bad moment or day, but pick yourself up and get right back at it.”

To connect with Renee Rayes visit:

IG @HeyT1D

Hey T1D Youtube channel